Area teen Green soaring to great heights on motocross circuit

For Trey Green, all it took was one look and he was hooked on motocross racing. The 15-year-old Green recalls being a 5-year-old and seeing motocross on television for the first time.

By Leon G. RussFor the Herald-Journal

For Trey Green, all it took was one look and he was hooked on motocross racing.The 15-year-old Green recalls being a 5-year-old and seeing motocross on television for the first time. He immediately began badgering his father, Al, for a dirt bike.The constant hounding paid off when Trey got a Honda CRF 50 at age 6. Less than a year later, he'd won his first race at the Shelby Fairgrounds and a lifelong passion for motocross racing was born.Since then it's been nearly 10 years of high revving engines, mud and dirt being flung in his face, broken bones, wide smiles and checkered flags as he's raced across courses throughout the country.In that time, Trey raced nearly every weekend, as much as 48 times a year. He climbed from the ranks of local racing to amateur rank at AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) to areas, regionals and now nationals.Trey's recent success can be attributed to Club MX, a motocross training facility in Chesterfield, where he lives and trains fulltime, while his parents are home in Gaffney. Trey works countless hours at Club MX each week, training daily in preparation for racing. From sunup to sundown he is running, lifting weights and working with personal trainers and, of course, riding his bike every single day. Trey was quick to dispel the notion that riders aren't athletes. There's a lot more that goes into becoming a winning motocross racer than simply hopping on a bike and opening the throttle. The sport requires an immense amount of cardio work and endurance training.While at Club MX, he does not have access to television or video games. When he isn't on the track, the high school sophomore does his coursework online and attends church services at the club's chapel. Trey now has his sights set on winning national races. He took the first step a few weeks ago, when he captured his first nationals motocross bike title at the Spring Classic at Mill Creek in Pell City, Ala. It was an impressive win for a 15-year-old, made even more so by the fact that Trey won the 450 C class, while riding a Honda 250. Trey said it was a difficult win because the bigger 450 bikes “are much faster so they got a great jump out of the gate but I made passes on the leaders because I was faster in the corners. I was able to catch them.”The championship was the result of a lot of hard work and dedication.Al and Trey's mother, Sandy, both work two jobs so that their son can live his dream. The Greens just saw daughter Karli start her freshman year at USC and those costs are equaled by Trey's expenses at Club MX, racing entrance fees, bike repairs, as well as hotels and meals, when they travel for races.“We try to give both our children all that's possible,” Sandy said. “We do sacrifice a lot but we're hoping one day it will pay off for Trey.”The Greens are thankful for their local sponsors and are always on the lookout for additional supporters. Racing has proven costly in terms of Trey's health as well. He's broken a rib, his leg and both wrists, the left one twice.Despite those injuries he said the racing experience is awesome. “When I am on the track it feels like nothing you could ever think of. You have an adrenaline rush,” he said. “It's a feeling like no other.”That's not how his parents see it.“Mama said she gets grey hairs every time he races,” Al said.“I try not to have fear but I'm only human,” Sandy said. “I do a whole lot of praying when he's on that track.”These days Trey's the one young kids are looking at and dreaming of being like. His advice to them mirrors what he's done. “Work hard, have fun, never give up and always ask for God's favor,” he said.With his first national win under his belt, Trey is working even harder toward his ultimate goal of becoming a professional motocross racer.“I just love to race, love to ride,” Trey said.

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